Episode 160

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Published on:

12th Aug 2025

The Psychology Behind Toxic Workplaces (And How to Fix Them) with Dr Mary-Clare Race

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Why do toxic workplaces thrive, and how can leaders turn them around?

In this HR L&D Podcast episode, we’re sitting down with Dr Mary-Clare Race, a workplace psychologist and leadership expert, to uncover the psychology of toxic cultures and the strategies that transform them into thriving, inclusive environments.

From her PhD research to leading DE&I initiatives for companies like Barclays, GSK, and Unilever, Dr Race explains why harmful behaviors persist, how to rebuild belonging, and why empathy, resilience, and self-awareness are the hallmarks of great leadership.

She shares practical ways to hold leaders accountable, strengthen workplace connection, and use AI as a tool to support human-centered coaching.

Whether you’re in HR or lead a team, this conversation delivers actionable insights for creating healthier, more productive workplaces.



Dr Mary-Clare Race’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-mary-clare-race-b59a602/


Nick Day’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickday/


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(00:00) Why Human Resources Matter Most  

(01:46) Introducing Dr Mary-Clare Race  

(04:00) The Psychology of Workplace Toxicity  

(06:06) The “Toxic Triangle” Explained  

(07:48) Turning Toxic Cultures Into Thriving Ones  

(10:40) Why DE&I Slips During Economic Pressure  

(13:16) The Backlash Against DE&I  

(15:12) Building Belonging Through Human Connection  

(16:45) Remote Work’s Impact on Toxicity  

(18:27) The Connection Crisis at Work  

(22:19) Do Playground Bullies Become Business Leaders?  

(26:25) How Early Experiences Shape Leadership Styles  

(28:56) Empathy, Resilience & Self-Awareness in Leadership  

(31:46) Micro-Coaching Moments for Busy Leaders  

(33:30) Leading Multi-Generational Workforces  

(36:42) Supporting Caregivers and Working Parents  

(39:26) AI in Coaching and Leadership Development  

(43:45) Final Advice for HR Leaders  

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About the Podcast

The HR L&D Podcast
Leadership, recruitment, culture. Conversations with HR's best
HR gets handed the problems nobody else wants to own. The restructure, the grievance, the engagement survey that came back badly. And then gets asked why people are leaving.

I'm Nick Day. I run an HR recruitment agency, which means I spend most of my week on the phone to HR directors, HR leaders and people leaders talking about what the job is actually like rather than what's written on the job spec. This HR Podcast came out of those calls. I kept hearing things worth repeating, and nobody was repeating them.

Every week I sit down with HR leaders, chief people officers, L&D specialists and the occasional academic who has changed how I think about work and people engagement. We get into leadership, and what happens when someone brilliant at the technical side gets promoted into managing humans.

Employee engagement past the survey score. Diversity, equity and inclusion in a climate where saying those words out loud has become a decision in itself. Pay transparency, talent management, reducing bias in hiring, HR digital transformation and the HCM systems everyone is being sold. And of course we cannot forget HR AI tools and platforms that are flooding the landscape as AI in HR becomes a hot topic every people leader is keen to understand and leverage.

Wellbeing comes up constantly, and it usually turns into the same question. Who looks after the HR team.

I'm not an HR practitioner and I don't pretend to be. I'm the person who hires them, which puts me in a useful position. I get to ask the obvious question that everyone in the room already knows the answer to and nobody says.

No script and no polite version. Mostly it's the conversation you'd have with someone doing your job at a different company, if you ever got the chance to sit down with them.

If you work in HR, people management or L&D, or you're building a career in it, start by subscribing to The HR L&D Podcast. We have had guests including Stephen Covey, Alan Stein Jnr, Andrea Wareham and Dr. Thom Mayer among other HR Leaders who are shaping the future of work and leadership.

Need HR staff? I run JGA Recruitment, an HR and payroll recruitment agency. www.jgarecruitment.com or info@jgarecruitment.com

Want to be on the show? Nick@jgadigital.com

If payroll is closer to your world, I also host The Payroll Podcast, the most listened to payroll show in the world.

Topics include HR leadership, workplace culture, retention, people management, employee engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion, DEI strategy, AI for HR, AI recruitment tools, talent management, HR digital transformation, HCM, staff wellbeing, pay transparency, reducing bias, L&D and HR recruitment.

About your host

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Nick Day